Brzezinski Urges 'Strategic Summits'

January 12, 1981

Zbigniew Brzezinski, in his final major address as President Carter's national security advisor, yesterday called on Western Europe and Japan to join the United States in constructing a "regional security framework" in the Persian Gulf.

In a "last hurrah" speech to the French Institute of International Relations in Paris, the text of which was made available here, Brzenzinski proposed an annual "strategic summit" meeting of Western nations and Japan to consult on political/military challenges.

In his remarks, Brzezinski said he opposes establishing U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf region, as reportedly urged by former secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger during a recent "private" trip to the region.

The sensitivities of nations that recently have been colonies of Europe "doom any premature effort to establish permanent" bases there, Brzeninski said. Instead, "more nuanced and measured ways of advancing Western security interests have been pursued by the Carter administration and should be continued, he said.

Brzezinski said he foresees "protracted internal difficulties" in the Soviet Union, because of restless Moslem nationalities growing in size, and a continuing economic slowdown that will divide the country's privileged elite from its common people.

But those domestic problems, when coupled with growing military power, could lead to bolder Soviet adventures abroad, he said. "These two trends heighten the probability of East-West confrontation and increase the risks of Soviet miscalculation and even war," he said.